Kamala Harris and Donald Trump’s first debate will take place in Philadelphia

Philadelphia was once again at the center of the political universe.

The first presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump will take place on September 10 at the National Constitution Center, ABC News reported on Friday.

The debate will begin at 9 p.m. and will air live on ABC, ABC News Live, Disney and Hulu, the network said. It will be moderated by Linsey Davis, a presenter at ABC News Live Prime Minister — and David Muir, Editor-in-Chief and Presenter World news tonight.

“We are honored to have been selected,” National Constitution Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen said in a statement Friday. “The mission of the National Constitution Center is to model civil dialogue… The presidential debates are a significant opportunity for all Americans to learn more about the principles that define American democracy.”

This isn’t the first time a presidential debate has taken place on Independence Mall. The National Constitution Center hosted the Democratic presidential primary debate between former President Barack Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2008and ABC News Town Hall events for Trump and President Joe Biden in 2020.

The announcement about the debate location came after Trump said the debate would be held near the National Constitution Center at Independence Hall. At the time of Trump’s comments, ABC told The Inquirer that the location had not been confirmed.

» READ MORE: Despite Donald Trump’s comments, it has not yet been confirmed that Philadelphia will be the site of the first presidential debate.

The debate will be the first meeting between Trump and Harris since Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed Harris after his own disastrous debate performance in June. Harris formally secured the Democratic presidential nomination earlier this month.

Trump initially pulled out of the proposed September 10 debate, citing Biden’s withdrawal from the race and his legal conflicts with ABC. Instead, he proposed a September 4 debate hosted by Fox News in front of a live audience.

“I either see her on September 4th or not at all,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social on August 3.

He then re-engaged in the debate at a news conference at his Mar-a-Largo, Florida country club, where he continued to push for a debate on September 4, as well as a third one, this time on September 25, with NBC participating.

» READ MORE: Donald Trump, Kamala Harris Agree to ABC Presidential Debate Next Month

Harris campaign he told ABC News that she will not debate Trump on September 4 and that future debates are contingent on Trump actually showing up at the first one.

Trump is sue ABC News and George Stephanopoulos for defamation after Good morning America anchor said a jury found that Trump “raped” E. Jean Carroll. A Manhattan jury found that Trump responsible for sexual harassment but not rape in the 2023 lawsuit, which is more narrowly defined under New York state law.

During a recent performance at Fox and friendsTrump said the ongoing legal proceedings it would not affect his ability to debate on ABC because Stephanopoulos will not host.

» READ MORE: Tim Walz, JD Vance Agree to CBS Vice Presidential Debate on Oct. 1

“You can use that as an excuse, I could use that as an excuse,” Trump said. “I think I would prefer Fox…the most important thing is that we can debate.”

As for the vice presidential candidates, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Senator J.D. Vance will debate in New York on October 1, hosted by CBS.